


Take me home

by Void (EroEmo)



Series: A loving feeling [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Battle of Detroit: Aftermath, Everyone lives/Nobody dies, Fluff, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, POV Simon, Pacifist Ending, Pining, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, a small tinge of angst, dealing with FEELINGS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 08:38:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15602541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EroEmo/pseuds/Void
Summary: Home isn't always a place. Sometimes, it's someone.





	Take me home

“What were you thinking!?”

He approaches Markus as everyone stops singing, human soldiers retreating and letting them be. They’ve won. For now, at least.

“What are you talking-”

“You could’ve been shot!” He’s nothing like his usual, composed self and Simon knows he’s acting strange. Overreacting, one might even say. “How could you storm out of the barricade so recklessly?”

Markus looks at him carefully, mouth in tight line. Simon doesn’t back down, doesn’t move even an inch from his place. He knows he’s standing a little bit too close but he can’t bring himself to care. “My brothers and sisters were in danger and so I run to save them. Simple as that, Simon.”

Simon sighs, a sign of defeat. He cannot win this argument. Markus is their leader, always putting others before himself. It’s admirable. Distressing. Making his artificial heart race for more reasons than Simon would like to admit.

“Still, it was foolhardy and you know it.”

Markus gives him a small smile and that’s all it takes for Simon to stop being mad. Anxiety still boils in his cybernetic guts but he’s used to it by now. It has never left him since the moment Markus arrived to Jericho.

North approaches them now, taking their leader’s hand in her own and squeezing lightly. She wants to convey the same message Simon would love to be brave enough to say aloud. Instead he leaves, lets them be. He knows how North feels about Markus, only a blind man would not notice the way she looks at him, speaks about him. Now that they are safe, nothing stops Markus from returning her feelings openly.

Something about that image, of him outwardly showing he reciprocates North’s interest, makes Simon’s insides twitch unpleasantly. But again, who is he to stop them? As long as Markus is happy, he’s fine whoever he shares that happiness with.

Even if it’s not him.

*    *   *

Jericho is gone and so they stay in abandoned buildings for the upcoming nights. It’s not an ideal situation, far from it in all honesty, but there is still a long way to go. Before being able to live freely in decent conditions. Before everything settles down.

Markus is busy with negotiations that particular day and so everyone doesn’t really know what to do with themselves. North and Josh take Lucy’s place, helping androids that seek medical help. There is still so many of them, missing components or blue blood, or both. Some of those they do have, some they don’t. They let Connor deal with CyberLife and getting spare parts from them, and so he’s out tonight, too. He’s most of the time, to speak the truth.

It doesn’t concern Simon, though. As he sits on the desolated rooftop, looking through plans in his system, he worries only about one android and whether he will return today in one piece, unbothered by anti-android forces along the way.

Sun’s well behind the horizon when he hears the firm footsteps.

“I was looking for you,” Markus says as he comes closer, Simon still sitting in his spot of choice. He can see a nice chunk of Detroit from here. “North said you vanished to somewhere quiet.”

“Thinking about our current situation is easier when no one is shouting at you for whatever reason,” he looks up at the other android, moving to the side so that Markus can sit down if he so wishes. “I’ve also tried to check how much we’re scattered around and I’m happy to inform that it’s not so bad.”

Markus plops down next to him, nodding. And then, smiling at him. “Good. The last thing we need is not being able to help each other if the need comes.”

“You expect the worst, don’t you?”

He looks at Simon, and he cannot quite name what’s in that gaze. Determination? Frustration? Either way, he feels like he’s supposed to ease that pain. That he  _ wants to  _ soothe Markus. By taking his hand or gently squeezing his arm. In the end, Simon just smiles apologetically, for he doesn’t know how to truly help in any other way.

“I want to stay optimistic, Simon, I really do,” Markus averts his gaze to the vast city in front of them, clenching and unclenching his fists as he continues. “But there is still so much to be done and… I don’t know, I guess I’m just tired? Of being constantly on edge.”

“I know,” he says quietly, this time putting his hand on Markus’ shoulder. “But you don’t have to suffer alone, Markus. You have us and we want to support you in whatever way we can.”

That earns him a warm smile, and Simon’s heart skips a beat on the sight. Here, on the rooftop of an abandoned building, it’s peaceful. He wishes this moment could last forever, only he and Markus, unbothered by anyone else.

Simon knows it’s only wishful thinking. Life never was and will never be that easy.

“How did negotiations go?” He asks when silence starts to feel a bit too much for him to handle. Markus sighs in response, shoulders deflating. He looks  _ exhausted _ even if it’s physically impossible for any of them to get tired.

“It’s a slow process,” he squeezes the bridge of his nose, another sign of the fatigue. “But it’s a steady one.”

Simon pats his shoulder, his smile now reassuring or so he hopes it looks like it. “What would we do without you, Markus?”

He intends it as a half-joke, wanting Markus to cheer up a bit. He succeeds, judging by the quirk of the other androids’ lips. Simon feels warmth spreading inside of him, knowing he’s responsible for this particular expression on Markus’ face now.

It’s getting late and everyone probably wonders where are they - or maybe rather where Markus is, since he’s a far more important person than Simon. He’s about to propose they go back to the quarters but before he can even open his mouth, Markus speaks first.

“You seemed agitated back then,” Simon doesn’t need to ask about which ‘back then’ Markus is talking about, the scene of soldiers lowering their weapons and retreating still fresh in his memory. “More than you typically would be, I mean. Why?”

“Because you could have died,” it’s not a lie, Simon knows it. So why it feels like he’s lying to Markus? “I’ve told you that already.”

“I’m not blind, Simon,” Markus turns to face him and, may rA9 help him, he hopes he’s not turning blue on the face now. “Something was bothering you then and I can feel it’s still bothering you now. What is it?”

Fight or flee response is kicking in, his legs itching to move, to run away from this place, from this situation. Yet he orders every inch of his body to stay in place, instead searching for words to say.

_ I was scared I’d lose you. _

_ You mean the world to me, Markus. _

_ I’m just constantly on edge because you’re an amazing leader who would sacrifice himself and I’m a terrible companion because I wouldn’t let you. _

“Simon?”

“What if you did get shot then?” Even though he wants to look away, he holds Markus’ intense gaze. He’s not backing off.

“Don’t change the-”

“Answer me, Markus,” he sounds too harsh for his own liking. He winces. “Please.”

Markus looks lost for a second but then he regains his composure, his hands clutching on the material of his jacket just a tiny, little bit as he speaks. “I’d have been wounded, probably dead.”

Simon smiles sheepishly, sad undertones to it. “No, you wouldn’t have.”

One of Markus eyebrows shots up, a question mark plain on his face. It’s a cute sight, such a rare one, too. Their leader confused like a small child he never was. Like none of them were because they’ve been created on the grown ups’ image.

His hand moves from the android’s shoulder to his chest, stopping right over his artificial heart. “You wouldn’t have been dead because our hearts are compatible, Markus.” Simon looks up at him, feeling as his eyes are welling up with tears. Shit. “If yours were damaged, I’d have given you mine.”

He doesn’t wait for Markus’ reaction, knowing all too well he’s said too much already. He just stands up and leaves, hoping the other android doesn’t see tears that start to go down his cheeks.

Simon doesn’t have a software that allows him to confess love in a clear manner but that’s okay. As long as Markus is alive and well, everything is fine. Even if he hates Simon, even if he distances himself from him, even if he ends up dating North. No matter the outcome, he will support Markus as he always does.

He probably doesn’t look all too well when he passes Josh on the ruined corridor, but he’s not being stopped or called after. No one stops Simon before reaching a small room, entering it and closing the door behind him.

The whole place was probably an office block at some point. If he has to guess, he’s getting a hold of himself in the tiny kitchen of sorts, two disemboweled countertops and a lonely, broken chair his only companion.

He’s not sure how much time passes until he feels functional again but right when he’s about to open the door, he hears footsteps on the other side. Silence. A hushed voice he would recognize anywhere in the world.

“Simon? Are you there?”

He does and doesn’t want to respond, and so he remains in place, unmoving. Hoping Markus is either going to storm in or go away. Simon isn’t sure which outcome he prefers.

The door handle moves and Simon is surprised how little force it takes to open the door. It’s an old building, he reminds himself. It’s a miracle there are any doors left in the first place.

Markus slowly approaches him, concern plain on his face. But there is also something more, something Simon can’t put a name to. It makes him uncomfortable and so he takes a step back when Markus takes two forward. And then he bumps into the remnants of the countertop, no place to run left anymore.

He swallows loudly, eyes darting to the ground. “Markus…”

“Why did you run away?”

Simon doesn’t expect such a question. Accusations? Maybe. But not that pure  _ care  _ in his voice _.  _ It’s surprising. Shocking, really. Pleasantly warming his mechanical heart.

“I didn’t want to…” Simon closes his eyes and then looks up, to meet these intense, worried eyes. “See your reaction, I suppose?” He laughs dryly, for how pathetic he sounds. How much of a coward he appears to be right now. “It’d be too much to deal with.”

Markus doesn’t ridicule him nor laugh at him. He just keeps staring, his features softening on the edges. Appearing less overbearing and more… gentle? Sincere?

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Simon really,  _ really  _ isn’t ready to have this conversation yet. He can barely keep still in that place, his body wanting to push the other android away and run as fast as he can. As far as he can.

“You had too much going on on your head,” it’s true. The last thing Simon wants is to put more things to worry about on Markus’ shoulders. In the end, though, he does that anyway. “I didn’t want to give you yet another problem to deal with.”

“A problem,” Markus sounds discontent. Does that answer anger him? “You think you’re a problem.” Simon doesn’t feel like disagreeing. He, in fact, thinks it’s a decent way to put everything that’s been going on in his head and heart.

Before he can say anything, Markus’ hands shot up to his face, gently cupping it. Thousands of emotions go through Simon’s system, his LED turning yellow. He’s afraid and excited. Delighted and heartsick. A blaze of intense feelings goes up and down, back and forth, making him awfully dizzy. He still stands only thanks to Markus’ hands and the furniture behind his lower back.

“You never was and never will be a problem, Simon,” Markus’ voice seems so certain he feels like maybe, just maybe, he could believe him. His gaze is intense, too, almost piercing through Simon’s skull. He can’t help himself, though, but to look into those beautiful, mismatched eyes and get lost in them. “I want you to remember that.”

Markus is so close right now, he idly thinks, that their noses are touching. He could kiss him if he leaned in just a tiny bit. If he were braver, maybe he would. But he’s a coward and both of them know that, and so he remains in place, feeling as warmth creeps into his neck and cheeks.

“Leaving you on that Stratford Tower was the most painful decision I’ve ever had to make,” Markus eventually says, his thumb absentmindedly brushing Simon’s cheek. “I’ve thought I’d never see you again, Simon.”

He doesn’t know what to say, so he remains quiet. Lets Markus continue as it seems he’s about to do just that. “I don’t want to think where I’d be right now if it weren’t for you coming back to us. To me.” If Simon needed to breathe, in this moment he’d have forgotten how it’s supposed to be done.

“You’d still have others’ support,” he tries to add, weakly, casting his eyes to the side. “North’s support.” Markus’ thumb stops, his face slightly moving away. Simon doesn’t know if he’s relieved or disheartened. “She deeply cares for you, Markus. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”

“I did,” something tiny inside of him breaks at the confession. “But even if I wanted to, I can’t really return her feelings.”

“And why is that?”

“Because of a wonderful, yet at times dumb, android standing right in front of me.” Markus says it so  _ casually,  _ meanwhile Simon feels his face burning bright blue, his eyes darting from the floor to Markus and then back down, hoping it will swallow him whole and end his misery.

Markus’ hand reaches to his own and, instead of turning off skin to connect with him, he just interlock their fingers. A simple, deeply human gesture speaking volumes.

Their faces are close again, noses bumping one another. If he tries really hard, Simon can cout lashes on Markus’ eyes. He can feel his heart pounding fast and heavy but, somehow, he doesn’t care. “Markus?”

“Yes?”

“They’re probably looking for you. We should go.”

“Mhm,” he muses, not moving an inch away. “I need to do one more thing, though.”

Simon is about to ask ‘what?’ but he’s not given enough time for that before Markus’ soft lips touch his own. It’s a sweet, chaste kiss. It doesn’t fit fierce and determined Markus outward and yet, at the same time, suits him just fine.

As he pulls out, he rests forehead on Simon’s, and Simon lets him. He feels he’s smiling and for once he doesn’t care whether it’s awkward or not. With Markus’ forehead on his, with their fingers intertwined, Simon feels  _ free.  _ Not bounded with anxiety and concern, nor worried about how his actions are going to affect those he cares about the most. He feels safe and at ease. 

He feels at home.

This feeling stays with him even when Markus decides on going back to the others, pulling Simon with him, their hands still dearly holding one another.

**Author's Note:**

> My brain came up with this around 1am and so I had troubles falling asleep, and now have spent the better part of a day writing it down. But then, who doesn't want those two being alive and happy?
> 
> I hope you liked it! ♡  
> You can also find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/yourdeadprince) and [tumblr](http://ee-void.tumblr.com/).


End file.
